Category Archives: Wayne Pacelle

The horrible system created by Class B pet dealers could soon be a thing of the past. It would be one more step into the direction of stopping another cruel practice.

On his A Humane Nation blog, Humane Society of the US top dog, Wayne Pacelle stated earlier this week: “Of the two remaining Class B dealers, one had only four dogs in its most recent inventory and the other is facing formal enforcement action from the USDA.”

Pacelle also notes these dealers get the dogs they sell from “flea markets, shelters, auctions, and even the backyards of unsuspecting owners.” Many end up in research labs.

Thank you to the HSUS and to everyone who fought to make this happen. Hopefully, we’ll see a complete end to the Class B system very soon.

It’s another bad grade for the America Kennel Club and the current rubber-stamp system of inspecting breeding operations. The Humane Society of the United States reported yesterday on a breeding kennel in Mississippi, where a former American Kennel Club champion dog was founding living in feces.

Wild Bill, an Australian Cattle Dog had been living with 60 other dogs on what is being described as a puppy mill.

In the report on his Humane Nation blog, Wayne Pacelle states:

Some of the worst facilities wave around their AKC credentials like a badge of honor, and draw consumers away from better sources of dogs, such as animal shelters and rescue groups and responsible breeders.

As is the case in greyhound racing, when a dog is no longer making money, it becomes disposable for the puppy-mill industry.

We need a system of regular inspections by qualified inspectors in every state in the nation.

Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society of the US praised the accomplishments of one outgoing governor and the slammed the negative record of another, in a blog post on Monday.

Pat Quinn is out as governor of Illinois. His record on animal welfare was a solid one. Pacelle noted he vetoed a bill on the way door that would have opened up trophy hunting and commercial trapping of bobcats.

Last year, Quinn signed into law a ban on the possession, sale, or distribution of shark fins. He signed the state’s puppy lemon law and an antifreeze safety law. He also fought for restrictions on tethering and promoted non-lethal methods for law-enforcement in handling animals and pushed for a ban on the trade of primates as pets.

But as pro-compassion as Quinn was, Pacelle counters with the horrible record of out-going Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman. He vetoed a bill to ban the trophy hunting of mountain lions and fought to preserve the horrible use of battery cages for hens and gestation crates for pigs.

Heinman seems to be charter member of anti-science and anti-compassion clubs.

South Dakota becoming the 5oth US state to adopt a felony animal-cruelty law.

It is now a federal crime to attend or bring a child to a dogfight or cockfight.

The truly idiotic and evil “King Amendment” was tossed out of the Farm Bill.

A federal appellate court rightfully overturned a horrible ruling from a lower that might have tossed out the animal crush video law. If I recall, the lower court tried to claim that torturing and brutally killing animals was protected free speech. That’s one for the Moronic Court Ruling Hall of Fame.

So arguably the current leader for the Moronic Court Ruling Hall of Fame is Citizens United.

A number of countries have agreed to end the use of gestation crates for pigs.

Three horse-slaughter plants were blocked from opening this year.

A new U.S. Department of Agriculture rule blocks the importation of puppies for sale. This means at least foreign puppy mills can’t sell here.

Internet sellers of puppy now have to follow USDA guidelines. The HSUS helped to block a legal challenge to this ruling.

Better protections are in place for animals suffering through experiments in labs.

The World Trade Organization is thankfully supporting European Union’s ban on products resulting from the horrific Canadian seal hunts.

The wolf hunts were stopped in Michigan.

New York and New Jersey became the first states to banned the sale of Ivory. This one should become a federal ban.

And Pacelle states the “… International Court of Justice ruled that Japan’s Southern Ocean whaling program violates the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling’s ban on commercial hunting.”

Pacelle notes Charity Navigator, what he calls “one of the most recognized charity watchdog organizations,” has given the HSUS its highest rating of four stars. And there’s this: “The HSUS also receives the highest ratings from the other reputable charity watchdog groups. The Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance affirms that we meet all 20 of its standards for charitable accountability.”

The organization has been out in front of a variety important issues, such as puppy mills, dog fighting and factory farming. We need the great adoption groups from all across the map and we need local and state organizations that work on regional issues. And we need national groups like the HSUS and the ASPCA and others, that fight the battle on a national and global scale.

US Representative Steve King (R-Iowa) is an anti-animal welfare as they come. His latest effort – the so-called King Amendment to the latest Farm Bill – was set to do several things, such overturning the ban on gestation crates for pigs.

According to the Olympian, it would effectively force states to authorize the sale and consumption of agricultural products, regardless of how unethical, environmentally destructive, or dangerous they may be.

And the article noted the amendment might have nullified “important state laws that prevent animal cruelty” and reported “King has voted in favor of killing American bison in Yellowstone National Park, killing horses for human consumption, and trophy killing of polar bears, despite their endangered status.”

… the Senate Appropriations Committee approved by voice vote an amendment, offered by Sens. Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to bar the U.S. Department of Agriculture inspections at horse slaughter plants in the United States. This comes just a week after the House approved an identical amendment by Reps. Jim Moran, D-Va., and Bill Young, R-Fla., to do the same thing.

More stores need to do what Sears just did. The retailer has completely dropped products made from real fur from its product line. The company had previously dropped fur from its stores and on Sears.com, but this latest news means the specific section known as Marketplace at Sears.com will be fur-free.

Pacelle notes some products labeled as “faux fur” have been found to have raccoon dog fur in them. As I’ve noted before, we no longer need to wear fur. There so many products available that either look like fur or function like fur. Don’t let anyone tell you this isn’t true.

A number of other retailers of late have stopped carrying fur or at least have stopped selling products made from raccoon dog fur.

How any other retailers could still sell real fur – in 2013 – is beyond comprehension. The people who run these companies are either ignorant or cold-hearted.

Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society of the United States appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Wednesday morning to announce a major shift in the direction of animal welfare for Burger King.

The No. 2 fast-food giant will by 2017 phase out the use of eggs and pork products from severely confined hens and pigs.

Pacelle was also quoted by the Associated Press as saying – “So many tens of thousands of animals will now be in better living conditions. Numerically this is significant because Burger King is such a big purchaser of these products.”

The AP also noted Burger King uses hundreds of millions of eggs and tens of millions of pounds of pork each year.

We’ve still got a long road to travel to end suffering, but this news is a positive step in the right direction. The use of gestation crates for pigs and battery cages for chickens is barbaric and if more companies like Burger King would make this call, maybe the factory farming industry will end these practices for good.

Important quote from Wayne Pacelle: I found a letter by HSUS president Wayne Pacelle posted on MLive.com.

The final paragraph led with this: “The animal welfare movement is strong and growing. It represents mainstream values. Although there is no official registry, an estimated 20,000 organizations are engaged in the important work of safeguarding animals, …”

A lot of good new in those two sentences. The animal-welfare movement is growing and getting stronger. I really believe that. And it is great to know that about 20,000 organizations all over the country are working to make life better for animals.

And why are we seeing this growth in animal-welfare organizations over the last two decades and why are we seeing the movement grow overall? – Because it does represent mainstream values.